June 27, 2021 Board Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF A MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE BLACKWATER LAKE ASSOC.

June 27, 2021

A meeting of the board of directors of the Blackwater Lake Association (“the BLA”) was held via video conference and hosted by Carolyn Dindorf on the above date. Lloyd Thielmann, Carolyn Dindorf, Linda Burns, Dodi Sletten, Tim Marr, and Scott Agre were present at the meeting. Barbie Laughlin, Becky Seemann, and Shannon Klundt were absent. A quorum was present for the meeting.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 8:28 a.m. by Board Chairman, Lloyd Thielmann.

Approval of Agenda

Lloyd distributed the agenda prior to the meeting which, upon motion duly made and seconded, was unanimously approved. 

Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the May 2, 2021 BOD’s meeting minutes were distributed by Dodi Sletten previously via email and reviewed by the board prior to this meeting. After review by the board which, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the minutes was approved unanimously.        

Treasurer’s Report

      Linda provided the board with the BLA General Fund financial summary report including line items reflecting the balance in the Lake Protection Fund and the Walleye stocking donations balance. The balance in the General Fund is $3,510.31 after expenses paid and includes the remaining donation balance of $490.00 for Walleye stocking. The Lake Protection Fund is at $8439.68 reflecting $1,645.00 in donations and an AIS expense of $75.00. Membership is currently at 117 members plus an additional three members since the summary was updated. Linda noted a check had been cut for NWLT with the membership count at 117 and asked the board’s opinion as to whether she should cut a new check to include the 3 additional members in the count.  The board agreed that the check should go out reflecting the 117 members. Lloyd and Linda referenced the reduction in mail postage and blurb printing costs due to the number of members receiving their Blurb by email. Approximately 101 are still receiving a paper copy while 250-300 members receive electronically.

Linda provided an analysis of expenses versus income in the General Fund and indicated the dues income are a wash covering the current expenses. There has been discussion in the past and was again suggested during this meeting to increase the dues to ensure General Fund health. The board agreed that a $10.00 increase would be appropriate. This will be added as a new business agenda item to be proposed and discussed at the annual meeting.

Discussion was held on how to treat the Walleye stocking donations and the board agreed it should be reflected as a separate line item in the General Fund account.   

Pat Schwerin has agreed to audit the books and she will report her findings at the annual meeting.

After review by the board which, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Treasurer’s report was approved unanimously.

 Old Business

  1. Special Thank You: Lloyd officially recognized Court Lechert’s for his many years of coordinating the seedlings giveaway program and for tracking the water levels. Thank you Court! Pat McKee has taken over the seedling program and Scott Agre is tracking the water levels. Thank you both for doing a great job.
  2. Fourth of July Parade. Cindy and Brandon Larsen will again host the parade which will begin by boats meeting at Little Blackwater at 1:45 p.m. with the parade starting at 2:00 p.m. going clockwise around the lake. Cindy and Becky discussed some changes to the parade but due to the time limitations this year, they will take place in 2022. This includes allowing the members on shore to vote by text for best decorated boat. $100 prize will be given to the winner.
  3. Midyear Blurb/Email: Lloyd discussed the information that will be contained in the blurb/email that is sent prior to the annual meeting. The blurb will contain a Chairperson’s message, an application for membership and the annual meeting agenda. In addition, there will be an AIS article written by Carolyn Dindorf as well as a recycling reminder.
  • Annual Meeting: Lloyd sent a proposed annual meeting agenda to the board prior to this meeting. The following agenda was approved with the addition of the noted * agenda item.
    • Call to order with the Pledge of Allegiance and introductory remarks by Chairperson, Lloyd Thielmann
    • Additions to agenda and approval of agenda
    • Approval of the 2019 Annual Meeting minutes. Posted on the Blackwater Lake website by Dodi Sletten
    • Introduction of the new Cass County Lake Aquatic Invasive Species supervisor, Dana Gutzman. She will give a presentation on AIS, followed by a question and answer period
    • Treasurers report and facts on our finances by Linda Burns
    • Audit report from Pat Schwerin
    • Remembrance of friends who are no longer with us. Kathy Bakker, Craig Stempt, Ron Martell, Richard (Fitz) Pfutzenreuter, Leona Stulen and Gerald Vanek
    • Committee Reports:
      1. 4th of July parade update by Cindy Larson
      2. Beaver control, waterway and bog by Lloyd Thielmann
      3. Water quality report by Jim Sletten
      4. Aquatic invasive species report by Carolyn Dindorf
      5. Membership report and AIS/Lake protection fund raising report by Linda Burns/information on the Walleye stocking fund
      6. Seedlings report by Pat McKee with a special thanks to Court Lechert
    • The Board of Directors has nominated for reelection:
  • Lloyd Thielmann (Chairperson-3 year term)
  • Carolyn Dindorf (Vice Chairperson-3 year term)
  • Linda Burns (Treasurer-3 year term)
  • Barb Laughlin (Director-2 year term)
  • Scott Agre (Director at Large-1year term)
  • Cabin coffee to be organized for 2022
  • *Dues increase proposal
  • Open the floor to new business
  • Adjournment

      Lloyd will bring available AIS related material, Dodi will supply name tags, and Linda will bring membership applications. Carolyn will also supply a portable microphone that will allow us to broadcast the meeting for any members that might want to sit on the tables outside.                                           

  1. Email List: Lloyd talked about maintaining the email list as he has received some non-deliverable messages. He talked about having to split the emails into groups when sending as AOL limits the number that can be send at one time. Carolyn mentioned the possibility of using a free service called MailChimp that can manage the delivery of larger lists. He will continue to encourage members to get information electronically. He noted that Tom Staley was having a more difficult time in keeping up with new ownerships and asked that we share information about any new neighbors we might be aware of to ensure we communicate and welcome them.
  2. Blurb-Fall Addition: Becky sent an email to the board with her thoughts on topics for the fall addition of the Blurb and asked for suggestions and ideas. Her suggested stories and topics include the following:
    • Summer Highlights on Blackwater-a page or two of photos of any lake type activities
    • Meet your lake neighbors-Duane Oestrich-Rob Kastonek and Lynn Wiebke
    • Cabin projects
    • Celebrating 100 years on Blackwater-The Seemann Family
    • Protecting water
    • Hunting Story

Becky also noted they will need to be written by August to coincide with her timing and schedule.

  1. ACCL meetings: Lloyd gave an update on the last ACCL meeting which included a report by Doug Schultz-DNR fisheries and Dana Guzman-Cass County AIS supervisor. Lloyd asked that we attend when possible.
  2. Beaver Control: Lloyd reported that our trapper had a busy spring and trapped a total of 27 beavers this year. Because of low water conditions, no new dam construction activity has taken place and noted that a number of the beavers were trapped before they had a chance to build. He will continue to check for any new signs of activity. A great job overall.

          New Business

  1. Wake Boat Reports: Lloyd and Tim reported that the Wake Boat study report will be delayed 6-9 months while it goes through a formal peer review prior to sending it to the Legislature.
  2. Walleye Stocking: Lloyd talked briefly about the size of the fish that were stocked in both the spring and fall with some fish measuring up to 11 inches indicating the chance of survival quite good. A big thank you to Scott and Karen Carpenter of the One Stop for their generous donation.
  3. Blackwater Website: Linda mentioned that the Website had no notice of the annual meeting and should probably be updated. She noted potential gaps in what was currently posted. Lloyd will contact Travis Skalicky to have him update the site.
  4. AIS Volunteers: Carolyn reported the need to find an AIS volunteer for the Pine Haven resort area. Carolyn will help Shannon cover his resort area for now.

  Next Board Meetings and Annual Meeting 

         The final Board of Directors meetings for 2021 will be held on September 26th. The annual meeting will be held on 7/17/2021.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the Board, and upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous approval at 9:42 a.m.

Dated as of the date first written above.

       ____________________________________

         Dodi Sletten, Secretary

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